Industry sources say that ESPN "will be buying air time
on ABC for the over-the-air broadcasts" of NHL games when
Disney gets the league's TV rights, according to Stephen
Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Disney and the NHL
"are expected to announce" a five-year, $600M deal this
week. While the portion of the bid attributed to ABC
"reportedly amounted to" $250M, which Fox passed on,
Battaglio reports that ESPN "will have complete control of
the production and commercial time of all the NHL telecasts
and buy the time on ABC for the broadcast telecasts." ESPN
had a "similar arrangement" in the early '90s, the last time
ABC carried the NHL. Such an arrangement "may become an
issue with Fox," which may "still pursue legal action over
whether ESPN is shouldering more than" the $350M of the bid
than the league says. ABC will also realize a cost savings
by having ESPN produce the games, as ESPN telecasts, which
have non-union technical crews, "can cost as little as one-
fifth" of an ABC telecast (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/24).
WAS DEAL PRUDENT MOVE? In Boston, Howard Manly called
Disney's decision to pay $600M for NHL rights "curious."
Manly: "The league makes out great; each team will receive
about [$4.5M] as a result of the new deal. But how does
ABC-ESPN plan to transform a ratings disaster into a
bonanza? ... The game is not made for national television.
More than any other sport, hockey is intensely regional."
Manly: "Truth be told, Fox outsmarted Disney. ... For one
thing, ABC-ESPN will receive little value-added for $600
million. They are already household names" (BOSTON GLOBE,
8/23). In Ottawa, Rob Brodie wrote that NHL owners "are no
doubt rubbing their hands with glee over the increased
revenue flow. ... Disney gains ground in its battle for
cable market positioning with Fox Sports Net. And fans
won't exactly shed a tear over the departure of Fox's blue
pucks and red streaks from their screens." He added that
Fox will cut a projected $20M loss if it can get the league
to buy back the final year of its current deal. Brodie
wrote, "This time," News Corp. Chair Rupert Murdoch, is
"being the sensible one" (OTTAWA SUN, 8/23).
